Not Everyone Makes It To The Top
by delovlies
Summary: those "missing chapters" from the Everest series...and a little more!
1. Getting the News

**_Not Everyone Makes It To The Top…_ An Everest fanfic**

** LOVE LOVE LOVE this series! And this little guy has been playing around in my head for a while…so its time to get it down…here goes nothing! Spoilers for those who have not finished the series. I own nothing! _Italics are thoughts _**

"I gotta take this." Bryn Fielder said to her friend Andréa while holding up her ringing cell phone. "Be back in a sec." she left her friends and answered the call, continuing to walk casually in the mall.

"Hello? ...yes, this is she…what can I do for you Mr. Cicero? …yes…SummitQuest? That thing that's trying to get some kids to climb Mt. Everest?...Me?...but I thought you had to get the letters to spell Everest from the bottle caps…your inviting _me?_ Yes! Yes, I absolutely accept…but I'll have to talk to my parents first…can I call you back tonight? Okay…no, thank you Mr. Cicero! Goodbye."

And she hung up. "I'm going to the top of the world." She whispered to herself. _I, Bryn Fielder, am going to climb the tallest mountain in the world. And I got invited to do it! _ Her first instinct was to scream and jump up and down.

"Bryn, look at this gorgeous shirt! And its only 20 bucks!" her other friend Jenna squealed, displaying the top.

_ I'm going to boot camp in Colorado so I can climb Everest. And I'm most likely going to be picked. I'm going to miss my junior year of high school. _ Her thoughts swirled around like a tornado. It was bittersweet, but she couldn't be more excited.

"Guys, guess what?" Jenna and Andréa looked at her. "I've been offered a place on the SummitQuest team. I'm going to the top of the world!"

Chris Alexis felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He glanced up from his physics test and quickly checked the caller I.D. Eyes wideninghe leaped to his feet and walked to his teacher's desk, asking to go to the bathroom. Once outside, he took a deep breath and returned the much-expected call. Finally, after waiting nearly a week, SummitQuest had called him.

"Hello, this is Chris Alexis." He stated.

"Hello Mr. Alexis, this is Cap Cicero." _I can't believe I'm talking to the best mountain climber in the world. _

"Yeah, probably the best climber on the planet, right?"  
>"Yes, and since your one of the best teen climbers on the planet, I'd like to offer you a spot on the SummitQuest team.<p>

"Your kidding, right?"

"No Chris, I'm not kidding. I'm inviting you to Everest Boot Camp in Colorado. You're pretty much guaranteed a spot on the team, along with Ethan Zaph and Bryn Fieldler."

"Oh wow. That's just awesome. And, yeah I'll go. You wouldn't need to ask me twice."

"Well, of course you'll have to talk it over with your parents, so I'll give you a call tonight with the details."

"That'll be great, but I gotta go." He could hear his teacher coming towards the door. "Thanks Mr. Cicero." He hung up quickly and jumped to his feet at Mr. Pryce opened the door. "Mr. Pryce, I can explain. That was Cap Cicero on the phone. I'm going to climb Everest." He pushed past his astounded teacher and gathered up his stuff. "I'll write you a paper from 29,028 feet above sea level. I'm going to the top of the world, baby!"

**I know not a lot of people read Everest stuff, so please read and review when you read this! More will follow, I promise. **

** And this is more of a sub main character story, POV wise. **


	2. Meetings

**Wow, I was overwhelmed with the number of reviews I got so quickly! Thank you if you reviewed and I'll take your suggestions. **

** Like I said, this story isn't going to focus on the main characters as much… I own nothing! _Italics are thoughts_**

Bryn settled in her chair and looked out the car window. Just two days ago, she had been invited to climb Everest. The last few days had been a whirlwind of getting packed, making arrangements with her school and saying goodbye to her friends and family. Now, she had flown into Denver and was on her way to the SummitQuest compound. She was very excited, of course, but was a little nervous. She had been told that she was practically already on the team, but you couldn't climb the tallest in the mountain in the world with out some sort of conditioning. And of course she was wondering about the other teens there. Mainly, she was wondering if there would be other girls there. She didn't really know a lot of other climbers very well and there weren't a lot anyway. She was the top female alpinist under 16, so she knew names and stats but not a lot else. The SummitQuest van rounded a corner and suddenly the compound came in sight, all too soon for the nervous girl.

Chris couldn't help but be irritated. Six hours to get from New Hampshire to Denver, switching planes in Missouri, was a little stressful. It didn't help that he had his little brother to tote along everywhere. Dominic was more excited than humanely possible at the moment, and it was kind of annoying. It was hard to admit to himself that he wasn't too happy sharing the spotlight. They'd been ferried to the compound by some dumpy van and now were awkwardly waiting around outside. A dozen other kids were wandering around, collecting luggage and talking. Not that Chris knew anyone, though. A few kids glanced appraisingly at Dominic, but he was too excited to care. Chris knew Ethan Zaph pretty well, but the guy was no where to be seen. The slam of a car door brought his attention to an arriving girl, the second he'd seen. She collecting her stuff and turned around, he recognized her as Bryn Fieldler, the top female alpinist under sixteen. He'd met her briefly the year before, and she seemed to recognize him. She walked right up to him.

"Hey Chris! Good to see you again." She said, smiling. "So…do you know what we're supposed to do now?" She joked.

"Everyone seems just to be waiting around for something. I just got here, so I'm clueless." She laughed, but it was forced.

"Well, I'll just wait with you if that's okay."

"Sure, that works." He turned to Dominic. "Bryn, meet my brother Dominic." She looked him up and down, eyebrows raised. She extended her hand, "Nice to meet you." Dominic grinned.

"Bryn Fieldler, right?" she nodded and smiled.

"You never told me you had a brother, Chris. He came all the way here with you?" She talked over Dominic's head, to his obvious annoyance.

"Actually, I'm here to stay." He butted in. Her look of surprise was priceless, Chris thought. She quickly recovered, "Well, good luck…I'm going to find out what we are supposed to be doing." She waltzed off, and Chris couldn't help but stare after her.

**Yes, I made bryn a little snobby and chris kind of a jerk on purpose. Don't worry, things will improve, and I'll have more characters POVs next chapter.**


	3. Going Home

**Hey, guys! Sorry I haven't updated in such a loooong time, but I got another idea! Actually, **Hell 2 the no **gave it to me! Thanks for reading, and I would love your reviews and any suggestions for later chapters. **

** I'm skipping around a lot, so it isn't in order, fyi! **

_Home_

He was going home. He was finally going home. Dominic Alexis shouldered his backpack and hurried up the stairs to the plane. He saw Ethan waving to him from a window seat and realized they sat together. A quick glance at his ticket confirmed it.

"Hey, little guy, I'm sitting in your seat, but I figured everyone wouldn't want to trip over my crutches if I'm in the aisle." He grinned, and Dominic grinned back and sat down beside him. A new voice appeared from the hub going on in the aisle.

"Actually, Zaph, it's my seat." The two boys looked up at Sammi, who stood in front of them, arms crossed. Jokingly, Ethan began to pick up his crutches and bag.

"Okay, okay, make the cripple move so you can sit next to the window." Sammi groaned, with a "save it" expression on her face.

"I'd offer you the middle, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to sit next to Ethan, right?" Dominic said. "I mean, after all…" Sammi playfully punched him the arm and sat down in the aisle seat, letting Ethan stay where he was.

"Don't be stupid, Dom." She whispered once sitting down. "You're worse than my little brother!" Dominic just rolled his eyes. "Remember how much I hate that guy?" On cue, Ethan leaned over and whispered, "Oreos, Sammi?" she groaned again and reached for her headphones.

Done with taunting her, Dominic turned his attention to the land quickly dropping away outside the narrow window. Perry had gone on a separate flight to a hospital in London, before he would make it back to the States. Cap was somewhere on this flight, but Dominic hadn't spotted him. He saw the smudge of the mountains behind them. Somewhere down there was Tilt's body. Tilt, his worst enemy, who had died trying to save him. He closed his eyes, remembering the flight here, and how much different it had been than this one.

After way too many hours on three different planes, Ethan, Dominic, Sammi and Cap arrived at Reagan National in Washington D.C. Tilt's funeral would be here. Thanks to Ethan's crutches, they were able to avoid the media people. Lost in thought, Dominic stared at his feet as they navigated to where their families would be waiting. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud squeal.

"Sammi! You guys!" He looked up just in time to see Bryn Fielder, looking completely different from the last time he saw her, run up and practically attack Sammi with hugs. Dominic grinned, as another, much taller greeter came forward. It was Chris. Dominic looked into his brother's face for the first time in months. He thought he saw tears in his eyes as Chris held out his hand. Gingerly, Dominic took it, but Chris immediately pulled him into a hug.

"You did it, little guy. Congratulations." He whispered. Dominic held out the little vial of sand from the Dead Sea.

"Not without you."

As Chris moved onto Ethan, Dominic could see that they were the first two to arrive. His parents hadn't come yet.

"Hey, Dominic!" He heard Bryn's breathy voice behind him. He turned, and she too crushed him into a hug. Laughing, she gently pulled away. "How was the view, Dom?"

"It was great, Bryn." He paused. "But there isn't anything like the view of coming home."

~/~/~

**Dawwwww! Sorry if a got a few things wrong here! Like my fabulous beta, xxoreno, I can't remember if it was Ethan or Dominic who twisted his ankle, and I don't have the books. **

** I am absolutely obsessed with her pairing of Bryn and Chris, but I think Sammi and Ethan would be adorable! Even though, well, she kinda hates him! (The Oreo reference was when Dominic hid in the supply bin…at least I think it was Oreos…it's pretty vauge but I think Ethan and Sammi had something to do with it…) **

**Hope you liked it! Again, I am taking suggestions! **


	4. Nothing Will Bring Him Back

**Here's another one, ya'll! Sorry they're so short! **

**I know all the these are pretty implausible, but I'll claim creative license. My mind is kinda wacky sometimes! This one is (sort of) based on "Oh What a Circus" (from Andrew Lloyd Webber's **_**Evita**_**) but you don't have to know the song. I'd appreciate suggestions for future chapters, if you have something, or a moment or pairing ect. You want to see! Enjoy! **

Tilt's funeral was finally over. Bryn glanced at Chris and Dominic on her left. Both of them stared at the ground. She couldn't help but wonder in Dominic felt guilty in any way, even though it wasn't his fault. Chris had his hand on his shoulder. She looked up, feeling sympathy for Mrs. Crowley, who still had her face buried in her hands. She felt bad for Tilt, she felt bad for everyone. Even though he hadn't exactly been anyone's favorite person, it was a hard blow, especially considering how he had died.

There was silence in the chapel, except for the sound of rain on the roof. No sunlight slanted through the stained-glass windows. A few people began to file out. She suddenly wanted to be free of this stuffy room, full of sadness and blame and guilt. She stood up, nearly tripping, and grabbed her coat and hurried through the crush of people as fast as she could. She navigated out of the chapel and pushed open the doors to outside, suddenly forgetting the media coverage.

Half a dozen reporters stood under the awning over the front entrance to the church. She took a deep breath of cool air, hoping they wouldn't recognize her. But before she could go back inside, one of them practically shoved a microphone at her.

"Ms. Feildler, how do you feel about Crowley's death? Do you feel anyone is responsible specifically?" She blinked, realizing that this must be how famous people feel all the time.

"Um, no comment." She tried to get by, but another stepped in front of her.

"Any regrets about not getting on the SummitQuest team?"

"Do you think Dominic Alexis may be responsible for Crowley's death in some way?"

Anger boiled inside of her and she shoved him aside.

"Dominic? No way!" She shouted. They all surrounded her, asking their questions again. She glanced around. "First off, there is no way Dominic was trying to sabotage Tilt. No way at all. Second, I would have liked to be on the team, but a personal reason kept me off."

Her admission brought a new barrage of questions, but she held up her hands. There was silence until someone spoke up.

"How do you feel about Crowley's death? Do you think it was ignorant of Ciciero to bring such young climbers?"

"Cap knew what their potential was. And both Dominic and Tilt summated. We know how Tilt died, and that didn't have a lot to do with climbing." She paused. "It's sad, obviously. To be honest, I wasn't Tilt's biggest fan, but it's still a tragedy that he died. But he died a hero. And no matter what everyone's saying, no amount of blame or guilt or accusations or anything will bring him back." She finished her piece and pushed back inside.

Chris was waiting, and she just rolled her eyes. "Bunch of thieves, making me talk like that." He grinned.

"I know what you mean. They tried for twenty minutes and it took everything I had not to start screaming my head off." He whispered, leaning down to whisper in her ear. She felt him take her hand and squeeze it. "But I heard what you said, and you're right. Nothing will bring him back now."

**Hope you guys liked that! Thanks so much for reading! **


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